COVENTRY CITY boss Chris Coleman will again call on fledgling right-back Jordan Clarke to be part of his match day squad today.

The defender, who has just turned 17, travelled with the first team to Reading on Monday night and was part of Wednesday’s FA Youth Cup side that crashed out of the competition against Stoke, losing 3-2 in the dying minutes of extra-time.

Coleman was at the game at the Ricoh Arena and tried to console the young players whom he feels need careful handling when it comes to being blooded in the first team.

“I felt so sorry for them,” he said. “We had a lot of our first team guys at the game and we went in to see them afterwards and it is a terrible sight to see young boys like that, some of whom were crying.

“But it is a learning curve and experience. Losing is just as much an experience as winning because it builds character, but they were devastated because they had gone so close. They were 2-1 up and were trying to play football.

“They were a little bit nervous at the start, and rightly so because it was at the Ricoh Arena, but they tried to play nice football and were unlucky. But they gave their best and didn’t deserve to lose.

“I gave them a pat on the back afterwards and told them they couldn’t have given any more.”

As for the prospect of calling on a couple amid the club’s current injury crisis, he said: “While we have got injuries I will consider a couple of them but when everyone is fit, no, because they are not ready.

“But when we have got injuries we will, otherwise we would be forced to bring in Oggy and Franky Bunn, which we don’t want to do!

“They are not quite ready for it yet because they are too young and you have to be careful because it has got to be the right environment and right circumstances because if you use them at the wrong time sometimes you never see them again. But we will bring a couple up because otherwise we haven’t got a 16 or 17.”

He added: “I like the look of Jordan Clarke who showed some good glimpses. He is young and raw and the winning goal came from his side when he lost his bearings a little bit and was a bit scared to make contact with the player for fear of giving away a penalty. But it was deep in extra time and he had given his lot and just lost his concentration.

“He has trained with us before and he is very competitive and I like what I have seen and he will be with us today.”